Old Market Square Stage, Designed by 5468796 Architecture

5468796 Architecture’s new public pavilion in Winnipeg’s Old Market Square is more than a bandshell. It’s an example of how R+D can influence the urban environment.

James BrittainThe façades are essentially aluminum curtains hung from a steel structure. The architects spent months devising an aluminum extrusion that would reflect light to allow for projections from inside.

The Exchange District, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is home to a host of structures dating back to the city’s early 20th-century heyday as a critical waypoint for the country’s grain trade. The town had a booming population and economy, and much of the activity was focused on what is now known as Old Market Square. What remains from those salad days is a collection of historic industrial buildings populated by an arts community, and the square has become a public green space that plays host to summer festivals, outdoor concerts, impromptu yoga classes, and even weddings. And now, at the center of all this is an aluminum mesh cube, 28 feet long, wide, and tall.

James BrittainPairs of the identical aluminum pieces were riveted together before being strung on aircraft cable. The pieces were then riveted to alternating pieces on each side, creating a stable, but flexible, mesh. The curtains can hang on all four sides (as seen here) to form a solid cube. On two sides, the mesh can be pulled back into the structure by inexpensive winches, forming canopies and revealing the stage.

The work of local firm 5468796 Architecture, Old Market Square (OMS) Stage is the result of a city-funded design competition to replace an old bandshell, which was used as few as 15 times per year, with something that would better engage the urban environment. “One of our inspirations was the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey that travels through time and fascinates everyone,” says firm principal Sasa Radulovic. “We thought: ‘Can we create something that could emanate that kind of energy from within?’ and ‘How can we do that with music, sound, and light from within so that it becomes a player in the city?’ ”

James BrittainThe acoustics in the mesh structure required articulating the concrete core to project the sound toward audiences in the park. The core also houses a green room for performers. A benefit of the mesh is the dappled quality of light as it plays off the concrete inside. The result is what Radulovic calls a "chapel-like quality," and the space has, in fact, become a popular wedding venue.

The new stage is lined with curtains formed from 20,000 identical extruded aluminum pieces, rotated to form a complex pattern. These modules are the final in a series of extrusions developed after months of research with metalworkers in a local Hutterite colony. They are held together with aircraft cable and rivets, and form a versatile backdrop for projections and illumination; the flexible mesh curtains can also be winched back on two sides of the cube to reveal the stage within.“The project started off as a bandshell, but ended up being something else,” Radulovic says. “Whether your event is 30 people or 30,000 people, you can hold it there.”

James BrittainInterior, with view through the flexible mesh.

James BrittainOn the second level, the concrete core supports a private stage with metal bleacher seating, accessible via a concrete staircase.

James BrittainThe new stage is used for concerts about 75 days a year, a 400-percent improvement over the schedule at the old bandshell. Part of the draw is a plug-and-play sound system and integrated lighting and production equipment that make the pavilion far cheaper to use for bands than other similar structures in the city—some of which can cost up to $10,000 to run for a night. “It’s designed so that anyone can go up and plug in a guitar and be ready to play,” principal Sasa Radulovic says.

James BrittainOn days when the pavilion isn’t hosting an event, it is lit in different colors using the integrated lighting equipment. “On Feb. 14, they project a heart on it, and on St. Patrick’s day, it glows green. That’s a use as well,” Radulovic says. “It becomes a player in the city.”